Fact Check: Baby elephant in viral video was born in Karnataka not Kerala
A video of an elephant calf playing with water at a temple has gone viral on social media claiming that the elephant calf, Vaikuntam, was born in Guruvayur, Kerala.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 18 July 2021 6:38 PM IST
Hyderabad: A video of an elephant calf playing with water at a temple has gone viral on social media claiming that the elephant calf, Vaikuntam, was born in Guruvayur, Kerala.
https://www.facebook.com/TamilEcho/posts/245777727353146
https://www.facebook.com/groups/444011876153134/posts/892080038012980/
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Fact Check:
The claim is false.
We performed keyword searches and came across a few articles by credible news organizations.
A news article by NDTV published on 1 September 2020 said the elephant calf, Shivani, was born in Dharmasthala, Karnataka.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=941584196686011
According to a report by the Indian Express, "The elephant named Shivaani was seen having fun splashing in water while dressed up for a ceremony with its mother at the Sri Manjunatha Swamy Temple in Dakshina Kannada. Born on July 1 to the temple's elephant named Lakshmi, the video of the female calf playing with water during her 'naming ceremony' has been appreciated by many on social media."
Veerendra Heggade, the temple's Dharmadhikari, told the Indian Express, "We have named her Shivaani- the name of Lord Shiva since she is under the care of the presiding deity of this temple, Manjunatheshwara. Shivaani is taken care of by government veterinary doctors in the temple."
Further, the official page of the temple stated that the elephant's name is Shivaani. We checked Wikipedia and found that this temple is located in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka.
We also found a photo from the naming ceremony on the temple's Facebook page.
Several media organizations had reported about the ceremony.
It is evident that the viral claim is false as the baby elephant was born in Karnataka and not Kerala.
